Do you have OnStar? It can read email, you know. That got
me thinking...

My computer has a modem and so can act as an answering
machine. Thanks to Microsoft, said PC also has a voice
recognition API. So, it can record a message and convert it
to text, text that can be emailed and read aloud by OnStar.

Open source developers are their own best fans. Where
is
the external support? Bumeer, eh?

Must code. Must... exercise... brain...

Yikes, it's been a while. That pesky software bug is
biting
again, nagging and pulling at me. Sooner than later I will
capitulate.

First needs object libraries. I'm almost there, so it
isn't
a matter of design as much as implementation. Maybe that's
why I haven't been excited about it. Combined with
templates, user-defined objects in custom libraries will
make it a generally useful tool.

Useful tools are even more useful when they are
accessible,
which means building a reasonable installer that combines
the applet with the desktop components. I hate dealing with
installers. None of them are good. If you build an
installer builder, read this and are offended, I
appologize. But, like it or not, your application sucks.
Make it easier to use.

Can we do this walking? I think better on my feet, as
do
most people, I beleive.

It's 25 degrees outside.

Oh, is it? I hadn't noticed. I wouldn't want to impose.
Speaking of impositions, may I ask a favor?

Certainly

I have a discursive mind and am liable to wander off
the
mental tracks, so to speak. Frankly, I'll often continue to
wander until I can no longer see the tracks. If you
wouldn't mind sending up a flare at the appropriate times,
I'd appreciate that.

Advogato allows access to diaries in XML (a strange
dialect, it seams) using a URL under your "person". That
is, find my XML-encoded diary here. That is her
e. Now I think that's pretty-darn cool.

And how did I figure this out? From the source code, which
is open, and online, and cross-references. Too cool for
words, really.

Now, the important question: "Will the same tool annotate
5M lines of code on an intranet server for me?

Conspicuous Consumption

I found the newer, larger, prettier version of my house a
while back and bought it. Stopped by after picking up the
keys yesterday to enjoy the feeling. Now for the ugly part -
- moving. We have way too much stuff.

Ever notice that Frank Gehry never seems to talk about
walls? His view of a building is of light and shadow and
volume. I'm an engineer. My view of a building is slabs and
ductwork and convection. It's the same building, but we see
it differently.

The future of software is in this multi-platform, multi-
client, wildly distributed network called "The Internet".
I'm such a visionary, I know. It bears consideration that
network clients will see artifacts in as varied a manner as
people see buildings.

It's difficult enough to build software with a single
manifestation of an artifact (an email message, for
example). Supporting multiple, and ideally unlimited,
manifestations is immensely more complex. Once again,
software needs to be done differently.

So how does nature do it? Our minds hold intangible models
that form the basis of our cognition. These models are
fully encapsulated, accessed only over a physical carrier
such as air, or paper, or electrons. The conversion of our
mental models is not perfect, as the exaltation of "great
artists" and "great communicators" exemplifies. The
conveyances are the common primitives defined by the rules
of physics.

How is software limited by the conveyances of the web?
Significantly. Bits are a very primitive building block --
akin to atoms or bricks? Bits must be molded with great
craftsmanship to carry a message.

What makes XML a better conveyer of information than bits?
The ability of software to "sense" it. Viola.

I like web discussion groups. Yes they are intelectual
slums. Yes they are slow and ungainly. But still I like
them, and here's why: Bablefish.

Remeber way-back when AltaVista put the BableFish
translation service online? That was cool. I was in the
midst of planning a six-week trip to Europe at the time,
and BF helped me correspond with the owners of inns and
travel bureaus. Once the trip was over, I didn't think much
about it until a came accross discussion groups using the
technology to auto-translate posts into the reader's
language, regardless of the post's original language --
wow.

Simple? Yes. But still amazingly cool.

I can talk to almost anyone, anywhere in the world using
these forums. That is a very good thing. Wonder how
Afghans see the conflict in their country? Try th
is (keep in mind that the translation technology isn't
all that good before assuming someone is an idiot) and see
Germans, French and Americans posturing and puffing
in a language agnostic forum.

Sunday (October 21) I stole away to hike the Table
Rock Wilderness. Awesome. As NYC holds the wonders of
man, the PNW holds the wonders of nature.

It wasn't a great day for hiking with blowing rain and low
rolling clouds. I couldn't see 100 yards for the fog
sometimes. But it was a glorious six miles. So far removed.
The staid giants (Douglas, Hemlock and Noble) quitely speak
of shattering forces.

Sad reality returned at the reunion with the car. State
troopers have patrolled there for a long time, that man's
eyes were different Sunday. Uncertain.

XML for Diagrams, or DiagramML

First
needed an export/import format with fealty to the model,
but unadorned. I'm not one to choose a complex solution to
a simple problem (okay, maybe I am but that isn't the
point). Enter DiagramML. I think it will work, but consider
it a proposal for now. Is there an alternative? :)